PEORIA, Ill. -- After a strong opening to the outdoor season, the Bradley track and field teams will run in the first of four outdoor meets in the state of Illinois on the schedule Friday and Saturday at the EIU Big Blue Classic in Charleston, Ill.
The men's team will kick things off for the Braves Friday with three individuals competing in the 5,000 meters at 7:45 p.m. Freshman Marshall Moyer (Burlington, Iowa/Burlington) will make his track debut after pacing the men's cross country team in four meets during the fall.
"This is another great developmental meet for our team," head coach Marc Burns said. "We will have opportunities to win heats and hone our competitive racing skills. EIU does a nice job with this meet and we are looking forward to competing on the blue oval."
Saturday's action is slated to begin 10:30 a.m. with junior Hanna Muegge (Hopkins, Minn./Hopkins) competing in the long jump. Muegge will also compete in the high jump and is one of four Braves entered in the 200 meter dash.
Freshman Sarah McMahon (Colfax, Wis./Colfax) and sophomore Cassie Lohmeier (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) will also help highlight Saturday's action, running in the 1,500 meters after both ran sub 10-minute 3,000 meter times at last week's season-opening Black and Gold Classic in Nashville, Tenn. Bradley has 10 individuals in the 1,500 meter field.
On the men's side, freshman Chase Coffey (Hanna City, Ill./Farmington) is one of four BU individuals running in both the 800 and 1,500 meters. Coffey finished fifth in the steeplechase last week in the Bradley men's first official meet since 1992.
Sophomore Shane Garland (Webster Groves, Mo./Webster Groves) was Bradley's top finisher in both the 800 and 1,500 meters last week and will likely be near the front of six BU runners in Saturday's 800 meter field. The Braves have seven entries in the 1,500 meters and the duo of sophomore Chris Douglas (Hurlburt Field, Fla./Fort Walton Beach) and freshman Aaron Peck (Moline, Ill./Moline) will both compete in the 400 meters.
Freshman Kyela Specht (Munster, Ind./Munster) was the women's top finisher in the 800 meters last week and is expected to help lead a pack of seven Braves in the field. She will be joined by fellow freshman Emily Delvo (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart Griffin), who finished fourth in the 800 at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships in February.
The women's team will also compete in the 100 meter dash and the 100 meter high hurdles during Satuday's action.
The men's and women's track and field teams will send a small contingent to next week's Stanford Invitational before taking part in the Lee Calhoun Memorial April 14 in Macomb, Ill.
